Nearly a Quarter of Men 18–24 Have Signs of Disordered Eating

Researchers say most young men with eating disorders are trying to build muscle, not lose weight.

Share on PinterestDisordered eating can lead to muscle dysmorphia in men, experts say. Getty Images

Historically, much of the research on eating disorders has focused on girls and women.

But in recent years, researchers have increasingly explored the ways disordered eating and body image concerns can affect boys and men as well.

While women are often pressured to strive for thinness, men are often pushed to emulate an idealized male body that’s muscular and lean.

In an effort to build muscle, some teenage boys and young men engage in activities that are detrimental to their health.

According to a new study published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders, 22 percent of young men between the ages of 18 and 24 exhibit what the authors call muscularity-oriented disordered eating behaviors.

Those behaviors include doing one or more of the following to gain weight or bulk up: eating more or different foods than usual, taking dietary supplements, or using androgenic anabolic steroids.

“Muscularity-oriented disordered eating may develop when a boy becomes preoccupied with his appearance, body size, weight, food, or exercise in a way that worsens his quality of life,” Dr. Jason Nagata, MSc, lead author of the study and an assistant adjunct professor in the school of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, told Healthline.

“In moderation, some behaviors to build muscle or bulk up may not be ‘disordered,’” he continued. “However, engaging in muscle-building or bulking behaviors may put young people at greater risk for developing an eating disorder or muscle dysmorphia.”

This study adds to a relatively small but growing body of research on disordered eating behaviors in boys and men.

“Males have been traditionally under-recognized in the fields of eating disorders and in research on disordered eating more generally, so any studies that are addressing this topic are helpful,” Jason Lavender, PhD, an assistant researcher in the school of health sciences at the University of California, San Diego, told Healthline

“In terms of the methods, I think this type of study is especially valuable, both because it’s longitudinal and because it’s in a nationally representative sample,” he continued.

But when those efforts interfere with someone’s health, quality of life, or ability to take part in their usual work or social activities, it may be a sign that they’ve developed an eating disorder.

Muscularity-oriented disordered eating behaviors are also linked to muscle dysmorphia.

“Muscle dysmorphia is a type of body dysmorphic disorder in which people are preoccupied with nonexistent or slight flaws in their appearance to the point that it causes them clinically significant distress or impairment in functioning — usually both,” Dr. Katharine Phillips, a professor of psychiatry in the department of psychiatry at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical College at Cornell University in New York, told Healthline.

“In the case of muscle dysmorphia, the appearance concerns focus on thinking that one’s body build is too small or insufficiently muscular. In reality, these men look normal or are even very muscular due to working out excessively and/or taking muscle-building, often risky, drugs,” she added.

When Phillips and her colleagues studied muscle dysmorphia, they estimated that more than 20 percent of men with this condition met the criteria for an eating disorder.

She also notes a significant portion of men with muscle dysmorphia use anabolic steroids.

If you suspect that you or someone you care about is experiencing muscularity-oriented disordered eating behaviors or muscle dysmorphia, Phillips recommends seeking professional help.

“Muscle dysmorphia and muscularity-oriented disordered eating are distressing, impairing, and potentially even life-threatening, and they often improve with the right treatment,” Phillips said.

“Two-thirds of people with body dysmorphic disorder have onset of the disorder before age 18, so it’s especially important to be aware of it during childhood and adolescence,” she added.

To treat muscularity-oriented disordered eating or muscle dysmorphia, healthcare professionals may use many of the same strategies used to treat other types of disordered eating or body dysmorphic disorders.

“Although muscularity-oriented disordered eating involves some different behaviors than traditional disordered eating, often it’s driven by similar concerns and the same sort of underlying issues,” Lavender said.